Hardwood floors: Is American Cherry too soft?

I'm looking at putting in new pre-finished hardwood floors (3/4 inch),
and from one company they advise that American Cherry is the softest
wood and shouldn't be used in high traffic area. Anyone have experience
with this installed in their homes? Any problems related to the
American Cherry to comment on? Thanks!

American Cherry is almost as hard as Oak. If you want one of the
hardest and most beautuiful woods available, get Brazilian Cherry, it's
twice as hard as Oak on the Brinell scale for wood hardness. From the
company I bought my floor from, B.C. is the hardest wood they sell. On
a scale of 8, Oak is about 4.1, B.C. is in the high 7's.

Thanks to Travis and everyone for posting.
I'm a newbie. I admit, I never had a wood floor before, so I don't
know what to expect what this means if it is soft. I was told by the
salesman that you can see the dents more easily in American Cherry. But
what size dents are we talking about? Is this something really easy to
see and looks really bad? I'm thinking that if it was that bad, no one
would be offering American Cherry for flooring. Anyone care to share a
digital photo of an American Cherry floor that has been dented or
scratched so I could see what this is all about?
I was also warned that it would turn a deep red over time, up to one
year, and that to not put down any throw rugs for at least six months,
cause if you put them down right away and decide to move the rugs, the
color won't match. I was told also that it can take time for the
covered floor to catch-up with the rest of it in terms of changing
color. I guess if over a year, it finally is all one color that's ok.
Anyone care to share a digital photo of an American Cherry floor just
installed and then turned this deep red? If no one has a photo to show,
what other wood does this deep red look more like? Thanks!
Travis Jordan wrote:

Ask about this in rec.woodworking and maybe the one that used to rave
about how he loved the look of cherry floors will respond. He said it
almost made him passionate looking at one.
On 19 Aug 2005 21:11:43 -0700, "eastcoastguyz"

Cherry isn't the softest wood. It may be that company's softest wood,
but there's much that's softer.
Too soft? Some people think white pine is hard enough (white pine
is usually much softer than cherry), so it depends on a lot of factors.
It's probably a mistake to expect a high gloss cherry installation
to stand up to heavy traffic. It won't do as well as oak or maple.
But they aren't perfect either.
Brazillian Cherry looks quite a bit like American Cherry, but it ain't
a member of the same family. If you want the appearance of high gloss
American Cherry in a high traffic area, BC is probably the right
choice.
I personally think American Cherry is the best looking of all woods,
but I wouldn't use it for flooring in a high traffic area, unless
I was interested in the slightly distressed look.
Cherry darkens dramatically when exposed to light. That's part of it's
beauty (artificially staining it dark is blasphemy, and looks fake). But
it can lead to wierdities in flooring (or furniture) for the first couple
years until it equalizes.

--
Chris Lewis, Una confibula non set est
It\'s not just anyone who gets a Starship Cruiser class named after them.

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